that's the engine of this team. We've been frustrated, the losses to D.C. (3-0) and Colorado were uncharacteristic of us. We wanted to bounce back from adversity and show what we could do."
• Said Michael Parkhurst to The Boston Globe. "Our midfielders closed them down and did not give them time to pick up their heads to find Eddie and their forwards, and that makes our life a lot easier. It was good to have a quick turnaround. Obviously, any professional does not want to put out a performance like we did Thursday -- it was embarrassing. But we showed a lot of courage and fight and came out on top in most challenges. We take pride in getting shutouts and this makes up a little for that three-spot in Colorado."
• The game's only goal came on a classic counterattack. Shalrie Joseph won the ball in the midfield and played it wide to midfielder Khano Smith. He carried into the area before making a crisp pass that hit Twellman in stride as he ran toward the right post, sliding in to knock it into an empty net. It was Twellman's fifth game winning goal this season.
• "Khano, he's still learning, and the more consistent he becomes, the more dangerous he's going to be," said Nicol. "I wouldn't like to play defense against him, with his pace. And Taylor took the goal like a true center forward."
• With Noonan hobbled, Steve Ralston again stayed at home, as he did for the Colorado match, with the flu. Then at halftime, Jay Heaps was forced off with a calf injury. The three are all questionable for the Red Bulls match.
• "We've set a standard for ourselves on Sunday night," said Nicol. "That's the level of consistency and play we want to have every game. The real key for us is not to have a great 90 minutes one week and a poor one the next."
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls saw their two-game winning streak come to a quick end, seeing Jaime Moreno make history in a 3-1 D.C. United victory on Wednesday evening at RFK Stadium. The Red Bulls now have 33 points from 21 matches, falling into third place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind United and six behind the Revolution.
LAST MATCH
• United were undefeated in league play in the month of August, while the Red Bulls came in with four wins in their last six games after the thrilling 5-4 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy the previous weekend.
• The last time the teams had met in the nation's capital, a 10-man United exploded for a 4-2 win as Ben Olsen scored a hat trick - and with two goals in the opening eight minutes, it looked they had picked up where they left off. After just six minutes, Fred fired a shot that N.Y. goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus could not hold, and Olsen came in to knock home the rebound.
• Less than two minutes later United doubled the lead. Set free down the right flank, Olsen hooked in a cross that took a deflection to the back post where Christian Gomez was all alone, and he had just to stoop to nod the ball into the open goal.
• The Red Bulls pulled level in the 21st minute. United defender Marc Burch was caught in possession and fell, and as he and Juan Pablo Angel went to the ground, the ball squirted into the area. Dane Richards tried to get to it and as Troy Perkins came sliding out, he clipped Richards and referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the spot. Angel sent Perkins the wrong way in converting for his 13th goal on the season.
• But three minutes after the break, Hunter Freeman tripped up Luciano Emilio from behind as he ran onto a neat Moreno pass in the box, and Salazar again ruled for the maximum penalty. With the RFK faithful in rapt anticipation, Moreno put it inside the left side netting for career league goal No. 109, making him the sole leader all-time, breaking the tie he held with RSL head coach Jason Kreis.
• Red Bulls manager Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that defeated the LA Galaxy 5-4 the Saturday before. Carlos Mendes returned to central defense in place of Seth Stammler, and John Wolyniec came in for Jozy Altidore to partner Juan Pablo Angel in attack.
• Here's Arena's team (4-4-2): Ronald Waterreus - Hunter Freeman (Kevin Goldthwaite 85), Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Chris Leitch - Dane Richards, Clint Mathis, Joe Vide, Dave van den Bergh (Jozy Altidore 46) - Juan Pablo Angel, John Wolyniec (Mike Magee 61). Substitutes Not Used: Jon Conway, Markus Schopp, Seth Stammler, Sinisa Ubiparipovic
• "Mental errors -- a lot of mental errors tonight," said Arena. "We obviously made a few glaring mistakes especially on the first goal and the third goal. Positioning was poor and they capitalized on it."
TEAM NEWS
• The Red Bulls have now allowed seven goals over their last two matches, though they've won one and lost one. "We gave up seven goals in two games and that's not going to win it especially if we're not scoring more than seven," said Red Bulls defender Jeff Parke. "We can score five the other day but we only got one today and that is not going to win the game for us."
• Said Arena: "Unless you score four or five, then, yeah (it's not good)," about his team giving up nine goals in their last four games that included a 3-0 shutout win against Toronto.
• United said they were looking to come out quickly and take advantage of any letdown the Red Bulls would have after the high-profile match at the weekend.
• "We played for 90 minutes. We just got off a game on Saturday, a emotional game against L.A. with the score 5-4, a hard-fought game. We kept fighting at that was a positive thing we can take, because that'll go a long way in this league," said Clint Mathis. "Granted we lost a conference game, but we've just got to focus and rebuild on that work rate in the dying minutes. I think we three great chances in the last 15 minutes. So, you need build off that and, hopefully, we can go into Boston and get a different result."
• Even with nine goals for in the last three games, Arena has felt his team's attack is still too inconsistent. "The ball is up in the air too much. We have to be able to pass better out of the back. We have to combine through the midfield a little bit better. But there are a lot of games left to try to make it better," Arena said.
• With the win, United won the Atlantic Cup - given to the winner of the season series between the clubs - for the fifth time in six years. "We were just giving up too many chances and they just got at us. We talked about coming out strong and we didn't go out and start well," Jeff Parke said. "It's our own fault. They've got our number right now, but we've got to get over it and move on to the next game."
• The capper came when Moreno scored his historic goal against the only other club he's played for in the history of MLS, and came against the coach who led United for the first three seasons and won a pair of MLS Cup, including in 1997 when Moreno was named man of the match.
• "I'm real proud to see it, though I'm not happy it came against our team," said a smiling Arena, who has maintained a friendship with the Bolivian striker. "He's had a marvelous career and I'm glad I've gotten to see so much of it. I'm honored to have been part of it. ... He's evolved into one of, if not the finest, players in the history of this league."
